Urban Bites

One of my favourite parts of town I’ve explored in Sydney is Newtown, a colourful area decorated by street art and proliferated by dozens of drool-​inducing restaurants with lots of patio space for enjoying amazing Sydney weather. I recently stumbled upon Urban Bites, a friendly restaurant with a neighbourhood feel that has attentive staff and a menu serving tasty eats in generous portions.
The spot serves breakfast, lunch, dinner, desserts, and coffee, with a full alcohol bar. The dessert case is absolutely amazing, featuring everything from cakes and tarts, to pastries. Definitely save room for a tasty treat.
I was there for dinner and opted for a delicious grilled haloumi burger with rocket and olive tapenade on Turkish toast ($ 17.90 AUD). It was served with thickly cut chips and was so huge, I had to take half of it home. The bread was perfectly crispy, there was a ton of haloumi, and the veggies were plentiful. The fish and chips burger with sweet potato fries was equally massive.
Though all the cheesecake and tiramisu made my mouth water, I gave something I’ve never tried a taste, pavlova. I had no idea the dessert was born in the Australia/​New Zealand region, which is awesome, but it just looked so gosh darned pretty, I felt it would be a dream to eat. It’s a meringue-​based cake that was topped with cream. I’m not the hugest meringue fan, but it was sweet and light, and the cream was amazing. I’m sure it was a great version of the dessert, and its elegance evokes the beauty of the Russian ballerina the dessert was named after.
From start to finish, the meal at Urban Bites was fantastic. I loved that my meal was enough to take half of it home, the servers were courteous, and the whole atmosphere is fun and laid-​back.

This is one of my favourite places to visit when in Newtown, whether it’s for dinner, dessert or a simple coffee I never leave disappointed! The menu has a selection of great food, from steaks to chicken to fish and simple vegetarians dishes all cooked and seasoned to perfection. The portion sizes are over average so you won’t leave hungry! Also, you can’t go past the selection of dessert cakes displayed in the window and the fluffy pancakes with various toppings! The service is wonderful, all staff are friendly, with the food delivered promptly. Definitely a place worth stopping by if you’re looking for a delicious and warm home style feed! P. S. You can’t go past the haloumi chips either, they are ah-​mazing!

Ok so Urban bites is a fav of mine, they are consistently impressing me with their service and food. So many options and very generous portion sizes.
My daughter and I went for dinner and couldn’t pass up the seafood platter for 2, and at only $ 42 we felt like we were robbing them. Served with a greek salad it was So much food for 2 people we had leftovers to take home. Service A+ coffees A+ Urban Bites A+ I just cant find anything wrong with this establishment.

I went for lunch with a friend and ordered the Mezze platter for two. It was about $ 37 and the portions were huge! The lamb souvlaki was delicious, they didn’t skimp on the sauce, pita bread was freshly warmed and overall was a delicious meal. The garlic prawns we ordered as an entrée were not as flavoursome as I expected, but the accompanying garlic bread was very nice — soft in the middle with a nice crust.

My friends brought me here for the first time last night. The haloumi chips with aioli sauce as an entrée was the best I’ve ever had before (i think i could’ve demolished it off myself haha). For main meal i had the surf and turf, the rib eye i can say I’ve had better, they initially forgot the grilled prawns, the chips were cold and the portion size was smaller than most places, the side salad was decent. The others i were with ordered schnitzel and burgers they weren’t too happy with their meals as the meat was dried out and bland. Overall the place was pretty average.

Urban bites has been a favourite go to hangout coffee spot for the past few years due to its later opening hours, covered outdoor seating area, and decent food options.
The coffee is good, the service is always friendly and there are some decadent cakes to choose from too!
The food is the usual modern Australian/​Mediterranean fare. With some tasty grilled options. On my last visit I had the Greek lamb souvlaki which was very good and the chips were nice and crispy on the outside yet soft and fluffy on the inside.
Definitely worth a visit to sit and chat with friends.

I was brought here a few years back by a couple of friends that love to head to Newtown. I was very impressed with my first experience there & have since been back a countless amount of times. Every time I head there I can honestly say that I leave extremely satisfied.
The place has a really cool, laid back vibe that you come to expect from establishments based in Newtown. There is plenty of space inside & out for customers & I have never had to wait for a table whether it be on a weeknight, Saturday night or Sunday afternoon (although there always seems to be a good crowd there). Urban Bites hosts a very comprehensive menu with breakfast, lunch & dinner all lined up for you. A couple of personal recommendations: The Hot Chips with the Garlic Aioli, the Lamb Souvlaki, the pancakes & any of their salads — delicious!
There is a bar located on site so you can have a few quite drinks with your meal, or a few more than that if you’re a uni student during study period. but if you’re like me and love a good coffee with a meal then you won’t be disappointed here, the coffee is excellent.
A couple of points to consider before heading to Urban Bites:
1) It can be pretty difficult to get a parking spot considering it’s in Newtown, so cater for time spent looking for a park — chances are you will end up having to pay for parking.
2) The main meals can set you back around $ 20 & up — but don’t let the prices scare you off, the portion sizes are very generous — just bring a big appetite!
Overall, this is my favourite café in Newtown, great vibe, lovely food, quality coffee & always friendly service — definitely check this place out if you’re in the area!

I stumbled upon this place while walking to Newtown Thai on a hot summers day.
Since then I have revisited this place on 4 occasions, and I found it to be delicious every time.
Unfortunately the name does not do the place justice– when I saw it the first time, I thought it was a café/​bar which served quick and easy food (similar to Manning Bar at Sydney Uni). However, when I looked at the menu I knew I had to give this place a go.
The pasta I had on the first time I went was ridiculous. Yes, it was quite pricey, but it was worth every cent. The portions were also quite large.
The steak was also well cooked.
The thing I like a lot about this place is that their daily specials– they are always very different and worth a try, especially if you are a regular visitor.
Also, a friendly reminder that Access Cards (from Sydney Uni) ARE ACCEPTED! (I only found out the 2^nd time after I asked).
Expect to pay $ 15 – 25 for a main meal.

Love this place! Put aside the amazing food, Urban bites has a great taste in music! I love how the music cheers me up every time. My favorite dishes here are iceberg salad w/​assorted meats and chicken breast. Heaven for low carb diet ppl!

This place was fantastic. I meant to take a photo of their brunch menu, but completely forgot because I couldn’t find it before heading over.
To my relief they did have gluten free bread to accompany my spinach, feta, tomato and onion omelette, which was delicious, and they didn’t charge me any extra. My tea wasn’t anything special, and since no one tried the coffee I cannot tell you how it was.
Sitting outside on Kings St. was a little noisy, but they had space heaters and coverings to protect you from some of the winter weather.
Our waitress was lovely, and was not annoyed by the time we took in choosing our breakfast and chatting.
I would highly recommend this place, but I can see it being a bit of a hassle on weekends. (I went on a Wednesday morning for a friends birthday brunch.)

Oh my golly goodness! This was the best food I’ve had in a long while. The service at this place is great. Our meals arrived relatively fast and the waiters were very friendly.
The Lamb souvlaki was cooked perfectly. After my first bite I had to stop and collect myself. I haven’t tasted lamb seasoned so well in a while. It was DELICIOUS (tall Jan is malicious — hope someone gets the reference)!! The portion sizes were very generous so come hungry.
My friend ordered the Swordfish which was a special and my oh my was it tasty. It’s in the quieter part of Newtown which is great because you also don’t get the pretentiousness. Also very reasonable prices.
I’m coming back ASAP!

Was shouted here for lunch for my blast off from my current job, so I guess I should not be looking a gift horse too closely in the mouth. Had thought the 20 buck big plate of food had disappeared from Sydney’s gold crusted menus but this place surprised. My barramundi (yes, I do tend to eat that same bloody thing, when I can) was thick and juicy. Not sure what the pot of butter was meant to add, other than hurry up and die from hardened arteries, will ya? Resisted coffee so that I could fall asleep during my boss’ tawdry farewell speech. I was described as ‘unique’ which is code for ‘freak!’ and what he forgot to mention was all that money wasted on hired goons to squeeze me of this gig had come to precious nothing. A lovely courtyard and I am sure that boss-​less and slightly legless in the evening hours, this café would be exponentially more zippy. Oh, a comrade said the coffee was a tad pale, so maybe some more beans???

This joint reminds me of the trendy edition of Saved By The Bell’s cafeteria.
If the cafeteria were really a restaurant.
That allowed smoking, was BYO for wine, and sold $ 5 cocktails, wine, and beer ALL DAY, ALL THE TIME.
It’s a cafeteria in the sense that regardless of where you’re sitting, be it in the gig poster filled indoor area, or the spacious and open patio, there’s always a hustle and bustle of lunch hour rush floating through the air. That, and the waft of cigarette smoke of course.
The staff, all of which are under 25, run past like sprinting robots, eager to ask you what drink, entrée, main, cake, coffee, AHHHH!, you’re going to have. It’s not the type of place where you can sit and have a leisurely lunch without feeling like you’re being rushed out by the staff or pushed out by the energy. Don’t get me wrong; the service is great and the staff incredibly kind. It just runs like a well-​tuned factory more so than a restaurant.
The menu is also an amped-​up version of cafeteria food, meaning it’s based on the basics: salads, burgers, sandwiches, pasta dishes, etc. There’s nothing that makes you say «wow,» but if you want the norm, these servings are moderately priced and of large portions.
I did a «make my own sandwich,» which was excellent. Toasted Turkish packed with melted haloumi, sun-​dried tomatoes, roasted eggplant, capsicum, and cos. Mmmm. The coffee is also good and they have a make your own juice and smoothie menu; you can pick anything from beetroot to carrot, watermelon to mint. And there’s free wi-​fi, which is definitely a plus!
It’s not the food, location or service that sets me off from Urban Bitez; it’s simply the «style» of the place which, regardless of my opinion, is working quite well for them. They serve the Sydney Uni seen exceptionally well, butiIf you’re over the age of 30 you’re bound to feel a bit awkward dining in a room covered with polaroids of university students and drinking from plastic green water cups.
But if you’re a student after an in-​between class quickie or an after-​class all-​day drinkathon, Urban will set you up right. Just don’t set yourself up for failure with too many $ 5 drinks.

We were regular patrons of Urban Bites for awhile there, until two incidents
— I was served a slice of cake that was missing a chunk and was stale. They tried to cover both up with whipped cream which I had specifically asked not to be added. When we mentioned this, the waitress shrugged and offered a half-​assed apology.
— The second time, we went to breakfast and inquired whether we could be done in 1 hour as my sister had an appointment. We were assured that it wouldn’t be a problem. We waited twenty minutes for the waitress to take our order (the café was empty aside from us and a couple who were already eating). My mother and sister received their orders fifteen minutes later, and their coffees after that. My sister ate and drank quickly and dashed off to a bus.
My mother said the milk tasted odd and was tepid, and her toast was warm bread.
My pancakes arrived five minutes later — one was raw in the middle, the other was burnt on one side. My orange juice didn’t show up until we were paying for our meal, and the waitress rolled her eyes when we said we had to go and would like it removed from the bill.
We inquired about the time it would take to prepare our specific meals and were reassured we would have no problem dining in an hour (one dish was toast and jam!), and yet it took thirty five minutes to receive two coffees and at 90 minutes, I hadn’t been brought my drink. All in all, we were there 90 minutes and the food was barely edible.
Very disappointed that what was once a solid choice has become so disappointing solely on the attitudes of the staff.

To be honest, I don’t enjoy very many cafes in Newtown since a lot of them just feel cramped. Urban Bites is not like that; it is spacious on the inside, and has a large patio area outside which is great for groups. I enjoyed a cappuccino on the patio and my favorite thing about it was how quiet it was. There isn’t a lot of traffic on this side of King Street, so you don’t hear engines revving too often. The cappuccino was around $ 3.50 and was pretty tasty.
I have to say, I really do do think that it’s the atmosphere of Urban Bites that makes it more appealing rather than its food. The vibe is just very chill and easygoing. The menu is rather ordinary, with pastas, burgers, and some mediocre ethnic food. It is cheap and reliable, just not very exciting. The service is very friendly and efficient, but there’s not much more to say. It’s an average, but dependable place to go for a quick lunch.

I just dined on the House Salad at Urban Bites, which is right towards the front of King Street in Newtown.
It was nice, but did not excite me. It is quite a nice spot there, I like the atmosphere as you can sit outside and it is not too busy as it is before you reach the Newtown madness.
My salad consisted of Chicken and Avocado, always a good start, with bocconcini, lettuce and vegetables and a balsamic dressing. I just didn’t find the menu choices very interesting and I thought the dressing was a little ordinary too. I liked it, I just didn’t think it was special.

Trendy café on King Street — great court yard that is lit up with fantastic fairy lights. The menu is very Australian with a European flavour. The dishes are priced very well not to eat into your savings so you don’t go home with a bad taste in your mouth. There is breakfast till 4pm daily and they are open 7 days a week. The selling points are $ 10 pasta between 4−7pm and $ 5 beer all day every day. The staff are really friendly and groups are encouraged. There is a nice range of cheesecakes and biscuits if you want just coffee and desert. I would recommend this café for dinner as the effect of the lights adds a little sparkle to your night and would make for a really cosy date.

It’s not so much the food that makes Urban Bites so popular, but instead the general vibe of the place. It’s laid back and relaxed, making it a great place to go with friends for a drink to unwind. They have a great courtyard — heated in the winter, it’s perfect for reading the papers with a coffee or hot chocolate, or in the summer you can soak up the sun and enjoy a smoothie or glass of wine.
Between 4pm and 7pm it’s happy hour — any alcoholic drink for $ 5 with each meal purchased, which is definitely worth coming for. The staff are friendly, the service is efficient, it’s good value for money and very relaxed. No pretence of fine dining or ‘coolness’. I wouldn’t travel out of my way to eat here, but as a local place for a drink and a snack, it does the job.